A Kiss at Midnight

This was such a fun audiobook and story. I must confess if I had read this, I think I might have been bored because there are long conversations about particular nonsense that aren't too important and could be condensed. But listening to it was enjoyable and felt like a play with the hysterical voices of the odd and nonsensical characters. The only real sensible character is the heroine who seems on the surface quite boring but I thought her ordinariness a good balance to the colorful cast. I also liked how the hero and heroine acted and understood their responsibilities and there wasn't any big misunderstandings between them to create unnecessary drama. This isn't a book for you if you're into politically correct romances. There's an arrogant prince and heroine who's goal is marry and live a simple and content life. Plus some kind of forced seduction, not the bodice ripper type though. I liked it and felt the portrayal of females characters fit for the historical setting. The ending was a bit erupt and explained very quickly. Overall, I would call this story a one big slow seduction.

As you can all gather from the blurb this book is a sexy re-imagining of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. I think Ms. James is very clever and did an expert job re-writing this story and adding her own regency(?) era flair. The characters are real and fit time period nicely. I also love the little details from Cinderella that Ms. James took the time to fit around in the story.

Our prince, well, he is dark, brooding, and sexy, in my mind he sort of looks like Wrath (from J.R. Ward's BDB series) so that definitely helped my interest in the story. I also loved the way that Kate is portrayed as homely by her own imaginings until she finds her center and beauty and then she truly IS more beautiful. I also love Henry, Kate's godmother, she is so horrible and wonderful all at the same time, I hope that I am that witty and just perfect when I reach my older years. I love her, she is my favorite character from the entire book, next to her husband Leo of course.

This story is made so well because of the power Ms. James has for writing truly magnificent characters. I love this story and I enjoyed meeting all these wonderful characters that will stay with me for a long time. I will never be able to read or watch Cinderella again without thinking of Kate and Gabriel

A Cinderella story presented in a new and original way. So much fun to read with great characters and details!

Literally a Cinderella story in the framing, but lovely in the details. And I liked the stepsister not being evil and so much else.

A little fantastical, and a little too much deus ex machina at the end, but a lot of fun.

Guilty pleasure/brain candy kind of a read.

Or research for fairy tale retellings, perhaps?

This was a quick, sort of fun read, but it was ultimately disappointing. Some of the set up at the beginning felt really forced and false (a certain amount of info had to get dumped on the reader, and the way the author did it was kind of dumb: we are learning it at the same time as the main character, and I couldn't figure out why she didn't already know this stuff...)

I do like James's humor, but over all this was kind of MEH for me.

The Cinderella elements were "visible" but not forced. It was everything else that seemed like it was trying too hard.

This was a cute book. Not great literature, to be sure, but very cute and fun to read. A nice palate cleanser between two heavier books. This boo borrows heavily from the Cinderella fairy-tale, but takes its own cute spin on it. And unlike many of Eloisa James's books, she doesn't go off on a crazy tangent that has nothing to do with the plot about halfway through.

The only problem for me was that it really didn't seem to have enough twists and turns, it seemed pretty clear from the beginning exactly what was going to happen, which made it really slow in places.

Still a fun book, though.

I enjoyed reading this take on the Cinderella story. The author describes it as more fairy tale than historical fiction, and that seems right. The story was full of fuzziness of setting and improbable coincidences that really worked because of that tie. Kate (Cinderella) is the granddaughter of an Earl. Her mother was sickly but very rich, and her very good looking father married for access to that money, but not for love or affection. Her mother died, and her father immediately remarried a woman with a beautiful daughter (Victoria), about 5 years younger than Kate.Kate finds it necessary to stay around to protect the staff and the tenants on her father's estate, so her stepmother has a way to convince her to take part in a truly hare-brained scheme to pretend to be Victoria on a trip to see her fiance's extended family, including a prince!Yes, there are glass slippers, a ball, a previously unknown godmother (no fairies, though), a midnight escape... There are also funny little dogs, several steaming hot scenes, primary characters with some depth, funny secondary characters...A very fun read.

I loved this take on the Cinderella fairy tale. In fact, it was better than the original story. The heroine (Kate) was not the simple, sweet Cinderella, but, rather, a young woman with plenty of fire, intelligence and wit, as well as a heightened sense of responsibility for her time. The Prince was everything a hero should be including perceptive with a good sense of humor. I was particularly glad that the stepsister was portrayed in a kind light and that she and Kate became close. The dialogue, not just between Kate and Gabriel, but between all the characters (and believe me, there were some characters:-), was outstanding. This was a light, breezy read (no dark angst in this one) and I highly recommend it.

It's cute and clever, but really too fluffy for my taste.

A fun romp, although I liked The Duke is Mine better. I particularly like that some of the side characters weren't completely stereotypical.

Okay. I went in with lowered expectations, because reviewers said they were bothered by the historical inaccuracies (which didn't bother me at all because heck, it's a fantasy love story anyway). I love the Cinderella story, and figured I'd like it anyway. But even though there were some really nice touches to the basic story line, I can't say I loved it. The main character was rather passive and I would have liked to see a few more obstacles to True Love.

This the first book I have read by Ms. James.
I really enjoyed the first book of this series. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

Ok, so this is maybe more 3 star then 4 star book, but I am a sucker for fairy-tale retellings. And I really liked how Eloisa James replaced fantastical elements of the story with something real and still maintained enough likeness to the 'Cinderella'. There is: 'a carriage that never was a pumpkin, though it fled at midnight; a godmother who lost track of her charge, though she had no magic wand; and several so-called rats who secretly would have enjoyed wearing livery. And, of course, there's a girl too, though she didn't know how to dance, nor did she want to marry a prince.'.

This is the second book of Eloisa's I read and it didn't disappoint. In this book Eloisa recreates the fairytale of Cinderella with a more realistic flare. Kate aka the Cinderella is not that destitute. The evil stepsister isn't evil; just air headed and a lose woman. The evil stepmother actually a past whore. The fairy godmother isn't magical. The Prince has no kingdom. And the helpful creatures are three overly spoiled Maltese. In all things considering it's amazing Kate ever landed the prince at all in this story. In fact rather than try to keep Kate away from Prince Gabriel the stepmother practically delivers her to his doorstep with ambiance. This is because Victoria, the stepsister, gets herself pregnant. In order to be able to marry her, her fiancée has to get the approval of his uncle aka Gabriel. Lucky for all parties the prince is holding his betrothal ball and Victoria and Algie are invited. Thus the stepmother has Kate pretend to be Victoria for the event so that no-one will see that she got pregnant out of wedlock. So as you can see Kate had everything going against her. No magic or love was to be expected. It's her own luck that everyone see's through her disguise and Gabriel is intrigued. My personal opinion of the book was that if it wasn't the godmother Henry it would have fallen quite flat. Kate and Gabriel really didn't have that many dimensions to them. It would have been Gilmore Girls minus Lorelei and the town people. Rory isn't too terribly interesting on her own and needed Lorelei and the extra characters. Thus was the same with the book. Henry was brilliantly funny and helped push Kate to do things she would have never done. She was also the one to set her straight at times. Gabriel also needed Wick and the rest of his crazy relatives to keep him going. Otherwise i believe he would have ravished Kate or headed to a archeological dig leaving her in the dust. Probably both in that order. I do like Eloisa's writing style though. I'm not a big fan of too many sex scenes and so was appreciative of the fact that they were to the bare minimum. So final rating: 4 stars. Good story, plot, and characters. The thing was that the main characters were weak at times.

A joy to read. Charming story about an impossible love - lightly based on the fairy tale Cinderella. The characters were wonderful but I especially loved the humor. The end seemed a little bit rushed, but I can't wait for the next book.

An interesting twist on the Cinderella story, recast as a Regency romance by the always-reliable Eloisa James.

This was rather charming, reminded me a bit of PD Wodehouse and Georgette Heyer with all the eccentric characters and witty by-play. Except this one had a lot of sex in it. So think of an erotic version of Georgette Heyer? The modern Regency Novels, I've discovered, are more erotic than the ones written in the early part of the 20th century. I don't know why. Writers were awfully repressed back then, well with a few exceptions of course - Henry Fielding, DH Lawrence, and Flaubert all come to mind.

It's a witty and ahem, erotic take on the Cinderella fairy tale. Except the heroine has a bit more backbone, and the step-sister is neither ugly nor evil. The step-mother is slightly nasty, but barely in the book, so you can ignore it.

My only quibble is that the heroine and everyone in the book appears to think that if you are over 20 and unmarried you are over-the-hill. Granted that is the time period. But there are female characters in this novel that are in their 70s. So I can't help but think the writer is trying to be satiric? I will state that this is an annoying trend in most romance novels - women are in the early 20s or late teens and the men in their late 20s and early 30s. Seriously ladies, what is up with that? The author does make fun of a few things though...including being over-the-hill at the ripe old age of 23 and virginity (it's not really that a big a deal).

At any rate the book made me laugh quite a bit. The writer unlike so many others in this genre, doesn't take herself all that seriously or her characters. She makes fun of everything from fashion to little dogs.
There's a rather funny bit about an elephant and a monkey who are in love, which also works as a nice metaphor.

Like all historical romances - the novel critiques the British and European caste system, and the silliness of titles and ranks. It discusses money and how often marriages are arranged for the exchange of funds and property. The wife came with a hefty dowry. The heroine's father married her mother for her mother's dowry. And when her mother dies, marries his mistress to make his second daughter legitimate and to give her a dowry. And the main conflict in the book is whether the rather poor prince can afford to follow his heart and marry his Cinderella or marry a rich and beautiful Russian Princess. It's romance novel not to mention one based on a fairy tale, you know how it ends. Only "literary" romance novels end badly. (ie. Gone with the Wind and Anna Karenia this isn't.)

It's definitely worth a rental, borrow, or dirt cheap e-book buy via Amazon. I think I got for $4. That is if you like a dash of wit with your fairy tale erotica.

This was a cute book. Not great literature, to be sure, but very cute and fun to read. A nice palate cleanser between two heavier books. This boo borrows heavily from the Cinderella fairy-tale, but takes its own cute spin on it. And unlike many of Eloisa James's books, she doesn't go off on a crazy tangent that has nothing to do with the plot about halfway through.

The only problem for me was that it really didn't seem to have enough twists and turns, it seemed pretty clear from the beginning exactly what was going to happen, which made it really slow in places.

Still a fun book, though.

Lighthearted and sexy, James's take on the Cinderella fairy tale was a delight from start to finish. Kate and Gabriel are certainly honorable, but not without a dash of wickedness to keep things spicy.

A Kiss at Midnight
3.5 Stars

Synopsis
Treated like a servant in her own home, Kate Daltry does her best to prevent her stepmother from emptying the family coffers. Out of desperation, she agrees to take her stepsister's place at a country gathering where she meets Prince Gabriel of Marburg. Initially less than charmed by his elitist arrogance, Kate eventually succumbs with each delectable kiss knowing full well that she has no future with the prince who is in dire need of a dowry.

Review
Insubstantial fluff with the occasional sharp wit and funny moment.

Gabriel and Kate's chemistry is only so-so - their sex scenes have potential but are lacking a certain steaminess. Nevertheless, they are a likeable couple and their relationship is sweet despite Gabriel's questionable morals, and his ridiculous and distasteful flitting between Kate and his soon to be betrothed, Tatiana.

The castle and its wacky inhabitants are really what makes this a worthwhile read. From the lion with indigestion to the inebriated aunt, each and every minor character contributes to the endearing atmosphere of the book.

Overall, this book left me underwhelmed but the next in the series has received high accolades and I am looking forward to reading it.

Loved it. A delightful Regency fairytale retelling. I loved all the characters, especially Kate, Gabriel, Wick and Henry. Though the storyline is predicable, it is a Cinderella retelling, the characters are interesting, the story is written in a way that is captivating and you can't help but champion everyone to get what their hearts desire. This is certainly one story that I will read time & time again.

A fun reversioning of the Cinderella story. Kate isn't quite a kitchen drudge, her stepsister, Victoria, isn't evil or ugly and her godmother, Henry, short for Henrietta, isn'ta fairy either. But the Prince is a Prince, and handsome and intelligent too. A fast, fun read.

after reading the novella "Storming the Castle" I wanted to re read "A Kissat Midnight" Enjoyed it even more the second time. Was able to read it slowly and savor it second time around instead of the way I devowered it the first time. Storming the Castle was a great way to revisit Kata & Gabriel, the castle and have a happy beginning for Wick. loved it.

A Kiss At Midnight is the first book in the Fairy Tale series that this amazing author has created for us. Now I have read most of the books in the series and have adored each and every one of them. I do have a weakness for the fairy tale theme, especially in the regency genre. For some reason, I had yet to have the opportunity to read this one. My favorite of the series was The Ugly Duckling, but I think this matches pretty close to it, as far as my enjoyment of the story goes. I was able to get this book for $5 on Audible on a daily deal they were having. Not too bad of a price for a audiobook.I found that I really liked the narrator and her accent used for this book was done very well. Although for some reason when I started reading this one, it didn't seem like a Regency style romance, it seemed to be from a earlier time period. I might just be crazy, but that was the impression I gained while listening to this one. Another plus to this book is that it has a "royalty" theme to it as well. This story goes along the basis of "Cinderella" and with a godmother, who is witty and charming and contagious. Where can I find one of those? She definitely knows how to meddle at all the right times and places. The stepsister in the book is sweet however the stepmother is pretty awful. I found that the author matched this story with the story of Cinderella pretty well, but it definitely has the sort of theme that is very different than you would think. I loved seeing her creativeness in her writing turn this story into a marvelous romance that captured me from the first moment.The story begins like you would expect in a Cinderella based romance. Kate's father has died, and her stepmother has turned her into a servant and she is barely keeping the estate together. Her stepsister is going to be married, but her sister suffers from a physical issue, so she is forced to go in her place and dress and act like her sister with four little runts of dogs with her at all times. Then she meets the prince with whom she instantly dislikes. The prince in the beginning is very arrogant and conceited at times. He is a prince after all. We see two characters that in the beginning are in different phases, but as they start to really connect and passion flares between them; we start to see that they have a tender and sweet intimacy that the reader aches to have as well. They both come from very different past and circumstances, but I found that this story is based on the theme of Choosing what really matters, and everything else will fall into place.A Kiss At Midnight is a truly wonderful romance that spins out a romance of delicious flavors, spicy scents and savory delights. A truly heart warming tale of glass slippers, princes, four mice.

Oh, this was sweet, romantic and charming. Kate is bullied into pretending to be her stepsister Victoria and attends a prince's betrothal ball with Victoria's fiancée. The prince in question is the fiancée's uncle, and must approve of his marriage to Victoria for the marriage to go forward - which it must, as Victoria is just a little pregnant.Of course, Kate - with her frankness, wit and smirkiness - catches the prince's eye and he becomes entranced, despite the fact that his as-yet-unseen betrothed is on the way. And he NEEDS to marry this en-route heiress/princess (Russian royalty), as his estate is gobbling money and he has many mouths to feed. And Kate is broke. Or is she?James writes lovely characters, full of charm and wit, and their banter is funny and sweet. While this story is less historical and more fairy tale (which James explains in the author's note), it still has the 1800s details that I enjoy reading about. Kate and Gabriel, the prince, have a wonderful chemistry and I really enjoyed reading about their falling in love. While reading this one, I grinned, my heart hurt and I teared up a bit... Good signs for a romance novel!Recommended!

I have always loved fairy tales. To me, that is what historical romance is all about. Eloisa James took it one step further and actually wrote a series of "Fairy Tale" romances, based on classic stories. In A Kiss At Midnight, she retells the Cinderella story and she does it beautifully. I can't remember when I've enjoyed a book so much. I loved the characters, the plot, the dialogue, everything about it. This is storytelling at its best, from start to finish. Well done, Ms. James!

I thought this one was well written and I enjoyed the fairy tale similarities. A fun read.

I wonder what the good ratings are for. The book is very ordinary.

2.3 stars“I did it,” Gabriel said, conversationally. “I met the woman, the only woman for me. I met her, and now I’m going to meet my wife.”This month's TBRChallenge theme was Fairy Tale, last year I did a Beauty and the Beast because my tbr is full of that theme as it happens to be a personal favorite. I wanted to switch it up this year so I went with a Cinderella inspired. I got this book from a garage sale around 6 years ago and since I've read James before, I figured I would generally like it. “Why did Caesar bite Victoria, anyway? I never thought to ask.” “She was feeding him from her mouth.” “What?” “Holding a piece of meat between her lips and encouraging him to take it from her. Foolish business, coming between a dog and his meat.” Kate shuddered. “That is disgusting.”Look, it was a bit rough of a start between me and the heroine Kate, she was pretty vocal about not liking her step-sister's three little doggies. I'm an avowed crazy dog lady, who, maybe this is too much information, could hold a treat between my teeth and let my Rottweiler take it out of my mouth. I never got bite once and, obviously, don't find it as odd/disgusting as Kate. She also said this about the doggies: She disliked her stepsister’s pack of little dogs, affectionately, or not so affectionately, known to all as the rats. Granted, I'm not big on little Maltese dogs but calling them rats had me growing cold towards Kate even more. I graciously read on and decided to give the heroine time to improve her attitude.With that personal huffiness aside, the beginning of this was chaotic, we get the basic set-up of Kate's mother dying when she was in her early teens, her father remarrying two weeks later, and then her father dying pretty soon after to leave her with a step-mother and step-sister a couple years younger than her. Leaning into the Cinderella inspiration, the step-mother doesn't share any of the inheritance the father left her with Kate, gives it to her daughter Victoria as a dowry and does her best to bankrupt the estate. Kate gets moved to the attic and basically treated like a servant. Kate wants to leave to start her own life but feels guilty leaving the tenants to fend for themselves. What starts off this whole story is that Victoria's lip is infected from the dog bite and she was supposed to travel with her betrothed to meet his uncle, who just so happens to be a prince. They can't postpone the meeting because Victoria and the betrothed have been anticipating the wedding night for three months and Victoria is pregnant, they planned on getting married after meeting the prince, the betrothed's mother won't let them get married until the prince approves. For some reason that didn't quite make sense to me, Victoria's lip can't be seen in public so the mother concocts the plan that Kate will take her place and pretend to be Victoria. They sort of resemble each other because, GASP!, they are actually sisters, Kate's father was cheating on her SICK mother and after the SICK mother dies, marries his mistress. This plan really made no sense to me. Gabriel Albrecht-Frederick William von Aschenberg of Warl-Marburg-BaalsfeldOur prince, of the many fabulous names, has his own trials going on. His oldest brother is going through it back in the home country and has decided to lean in hard to the teachings of a religious zealot. Because of this, he has kicked out anyone not willing to become devout and Gabriel has taken the heathen relatives, friends, and workers with him to England. He feels guilty leaving them on their own, I guess. Personally, he's always wanted to be an archaeologist but the callings of duty. However, he's a poor prince and must marry a rich Russian princess, who is making her way to England, where if everything goes according to plan, they will become betrothed at the Ball. She turned around, mouth open. “You can’t go about trying to seduce young ladies!” she squeaked. “If I weren’t betrothed already, I would consider marrying you.”You can probably tell where this is going, but it wasn't quite as predictable as I thought it was going to be. Kate and Gabriel meet and have an instant attraction but by 30% Gabriel knows who Kate really is and why Victoria isn't there to meet him. We learn that Gabriel's majordomo is his illegitimate half-brother and along with how he feels responsible for everyone, connections are there for Kate and Gabriel to bond. The problem was that with the chaotic beginning, we don't really get to sit with characters, Kate and Gabriel especially together, and that ruined some emotional connection between them. “Oh damn,” he said, and there was a kind of hoarse hunger in his voice that spoke of truth, “I wish you were my Russian princess.”The first half also introduces us to Kate's godmother, Henry. Kate didn't know about her and due to Henry loving Kate's father but him choosing an heiress over her and then Henry being barren and Kate's father not understanding her grief and thinking naming Henry godmother would make her feel better, they never connected over the years. But what is Cinderella without the godmother? Henry played her part well and helped to give love, life, and fashion advice to Kate. Around the midway point, Kate and Gabriel finally start to spend sometime together and while they have some nice conversations, this couple was really more about the teasing and foreplay. I do like how they didn't just jump to sex and some of the teasing seduction scenes were played out well but I kept wishing some of the side characters and their stories had been pushed to the side more so that we could have gotten to know Gabriel more and Kate and Gabriel as a couple could have shown me more of the mental emotional reasons they were falling/in love. They were really more of a bedroom couple. And then she knew what the emotion in his eyes was. It was despair, and rage—and love. Love. “Gabriel,” she said, with a little gasp.With his Russian princess arriving any day, Gabriel makes a bet with Kate that if he restores the reputation of a girl Kate has befriended, she must let him kiss her. They've kissed and fooled around at this point but both keep saying Kate can't give up her virginity to him. The night of the Ball, Gabriel organizes things to have Kate up in his turret room and they have a fairly steamy seduction sessions with Gabriel having to go downstairs to be with his Russian princess and then sneaking up to continue the seduction with Kate. It starts to feel like, Gabriel, my man, Stop. But we need that ending angst. At 80% they have sex and still think Gabriel will marry the princess and Kate will go with Henry to London to find a husband. Of course when Kate is leaving, she loses one of her “glass” slippers. His foot brushed something. He bent down. It was one of Kate’s glass slippers. It shimmered in his hand, as delicate and absurd as any bit of feminine nonsense he’d ever seen in his life. He said it aloud, because there was no reason to be silent. “I am—undone. She has undone me.” And his hand closed around the glass slipper.The next chapter jumps to 41 days have passed and Kate is depressed in London but of course, Gabriel shows up and does a romantic thing and happily ever after with an epilogue. The money problem gets solved with a book advance(??????) (have to remember back to Gabriel wanting to be an archaeologist) and Kate's dowry wasn't as stolen as she thought. This is definitely not a leave your family on pilgrimage to find this book and read it, but it had some nice moments. The step-sister not being evil/mean was a nice turn and Henry as the godmother was a treat but I never felt like Gabriel was a full character, would have loved more of him and his half-brother Wick, and Kate and Gabriel's relationship was more in the teasing seduction than feeling romantically complete. There were some odd/uncommon additives in this (a lion who maybe eats dogs who eat pickled food, all the secondary character probably/maybe not needed side-stories, and I can't let this go, a butler named Cherryderry) that made it feel chaotic and stole away from the romance of the main couple. You probably won't be bored because of the “what's that now??” quality but I can't say you'll be romanced either. (I know you all are wondering and yes, Kate sort of changed her mind about the doggies, at least one of them anyway and became a dog lady herself :)

I was slow to read this series, despite enjoying other work by James, because a retelling of fairy tales in this genre just seemed bound to be cloyingly sweet and fairly predictable. I can't speak to the others yet, but this one was considerably more interesting than I expected. A very loose interpretation of the tale, so even if you're quite familiar with previous versions, there will still be new twists here that you wouldn't have predicted. Overall I enjoyed it.